v. To free from anything that pains, disquiets, or oppresses; to relieve from toil or care; to give rest, repose, or tranquillity to; -- often with of

v. To render less painful or oppressive; to mitigate; to alleviate.

v. To release from pressure or restraint; to move gently; to lift slightly; to shift a little.

v. To entertain; to furnish with accommodations.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

To relieve or free from pain or bodily disquiet or annoyance; give rest or relief to; make comfortable.

To free from anxiety, care, or mental disturbance: as, the late news has eased my mind.

To release from pressure or tension; lessen or moderate the tension, tightness, weight, closeness, speed, etc., of, as by slacking, lifting slightly, shifting a little, etc.: sometimes with off: as, to ease a ship in a seaway by putting down the helm, or by throwing some cargo overboard; to ease a bar or a nut in machinery.

To relieve, as by the removal of a burden or an encumbrance; remove from, as a burden: with of before the thing removed: as, to ease a porter of his load.

To mitigate; alleviate; assuage; allay; abate or remove in part, as any burden, pain, grief, anxiety, or disturbance.

To render less difficult; facilitate.

Synonyms To quiet, calm, tranquilize, still, pacify.

To disburden, disencumber.

n. An undisturbed state of the body; freedom from labor, pain, or physical annoyance of any kind; tranquil rest; physical comfort: as, he sits at his ease; to take one's ease.

n. A quiet state of the mind; freedom from concern, anxiety, solicitude, or anything that frets or ruffles the mind; tranquillity.

The masters (of the tottering foundation of whose prosperity they were ignorant) seemed doing well, and, like gentlemen, "lived at home in ease," while they were starving, gasping on from day to day; and there was a foreign order to be executed, the extent o f which, large as it was, was greatly exaggerated; and it was to be done speedily.

The real intersting thing would be a country with competeting elites, where politicians and public servants are a serious counter elite with similar social status and power, where people cant change with ease from the top of companies to the top of political or public adminstration hieararchies.